Final answer:
Berkley's epistemology asserts that reality consists of minds and their ideas, with the existence of objects being dependent on being perceived, especially by God. Unlike Descartes who relies on clear and distinct ideas for certainty, Berkeley leans on direct perception, while Pierce and Moore offer communal and common sense alternatives to the quest for certainty in knowledge.
Step-by-step explanation:
Berkley's epistemology is built upon the certainty that our perceptions are the only direct access we have to reality and that physical objects only exist as perceptions in the mind. George Berkeley, an Irish philosopher, holds that what we perceive are ideas, and since only minds can have ideas, it follows that reality consists of minds and their ideas. In his view, the existence of material objects is dependent on being perceived; hence his famous dictum, 'esse is percipi' (to be is to be perceived). It is God's perception that ensures the continuity and constancy of these ideas when they are not being perceived by humans.
For Descartes, knowledge involves certainty which exists in the form of clear and distinct ideas, which are beyond doubt. However, Berkeley would argue that all we have is our perceptions and there is no need for an innate idea to justify knowledge. By denying the existence of material substance and asserting that the mind and its perceptions are fundamental, Berkeley finds a different path to certainty, one that rests on the immediate awareness of our own experiences and the assumption of an all-perceiving deity.
In response to skepticism, philosophers like C.S. Pierce and G.E. Moore challenge the need for absolute certainty in knowledge claims. Moore contends that common sense beliefs provide enough grounds for certitude, and Pierce asserts that truth is what an ideal community would agree upon in the long run, implying a fallibilist and communal approach to knowledge rather than an individualistic and infallible one.